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Two American leaders are butting heads in the NHL labour impasse, depriving us of our Canadian Saturday night tradition.

The Stanley Cup, which hasn't called a Canadian city home since 1993, is now in residence in the 90210 area code after the Los Angeles Kings brought the NHL's chalice to Southern California for the second time in five years.

An American-born captain, Dustin Brown, hoisted the Cup last spring. It was going to be an American no matter who won the final, with Minnesota's Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils on the other side.

After winning five world junior championships in a row, Canada had it streak snapped in 2010 by the Americans and hasn't won since.

The year before Canada started its drive for five, the U.S. also won the world junior title in 2004. The U.S. and Canada are the only multiple gold-medal winners since then.

At the NHL draft, the total number of Canadians picked has dropped below 100 the last three years, the first time that has happened in, like, forever. In 1995, Canada had 138 players taken in the draft.

The Americans had 16 selected.

Since then -- coinciding with the USA Hockey's decision to centralize its under-17 and under-18 teams starting in 1996, under the National Team Development Program banner -- the number of Americans drafted has climbed steadily through the decade (2000-2009), topping 60 players in five of those 10 years, 59 in another and never less than 45.

We've seen the number of Canadians taken dip to decades-low levels.

We call them "damn Yankees," tongue in cheek, of course.

But in the depths of this lockout, Canadians might be feeling like hockey at its highest levels -- the game whose character reflects what we perceive to be our own, unflinching in a sometimes cruel and cold environment, the game we nurtured before sending it out into the world -- is slipping away from us.

And it's not the Russians, who first made us realize hockey was not ours to exclusively dominate. Instead, it's America which has slipped an arm around hockey's shoulder and is whispering sweet nothings in its ear.

On a Saturday night at the First Niagara Center in late September, 40 top American prospects squared off in the first CCM All-American Prospects Game, a showcase that saw the rink jammed with NHL scouts and general managers like Brian Burke of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins, Americans themselves.

Just the fact the Americans can put together a game of 40 prospects, including big Portland Winterhawks defenceman Seth Jones, projected at this point to perhaps go first overall at next summer's NHL draft, shows how remarkably far the game has grown over the last decade south of the border. Hockey is attracting better athletes and USA Hockey has improved the structure to support them with the U17 and U18 programs centralized in Ann Arbor, Mich.

"I think in Canada the culture revolves around hockey and I have a lot of respect for that," said defenceman Steve Santini of Mahopac, N.Y., a member of the USA's U18 team. He's projected to be a mid-first round pick in next summer's NHL draft and has committed to playing at Boston College.

"I think America has put a lot of time and effort into developing players and obviously Canada has done that for years. I think now maybe we're starting to catch up to them in terms of that.

"I definitely think it's becoming a lot more popular, even in my area. I'm from a suburb of New York City where it's not a hockey hotbed, but over time I have seen younger players coming up who I think will be really good one day. It's really nice to see hockey becoming part of the culture. It's come a long way. USA Hockey has put a lot of time and effort into developing players and (the prospects game) shows how it's paying off."

Over the next few days, QMI Agency will take a look at hockey in America and how the USA has put itself in a position to challenge Canada's hockey supremacy.

Hockey in America is now attracting American blue-chippers, athletes who used to default to football, baseball or basketball.

Jones, the son of former NBA power forward Popeye Jones -- we'll have more on potentially the top pick in the 2013 draft later in this series -- is a gifted athlete who chose hockey over other sports.

What drew him into hockey's arms?

"The tempo. The tempo of the game. There's never a dull moment out there. You're always getting hit or giving a hit. You're always making a pass or receiving pass. You always have to be on your toes and thinking about the game," he said after scoring a goal and impressing the scouts and NHL management types in Buffalo at the American prospects game.

USA Hockey's U18 team supplied five of the top 42 picks in the NHL draft last summer, including three in the first round.

The Montreal Canadiens, a Canadian institution, have made an American-born player their top pick in the NHL draft eight times since 2000.

"I don't think it's a philosophy. We've been taking the best player available," said Trevor Timmins, the Canadiens' director of procurement and player development. "The quality of the players being developed in the U.S. has increased significantly over the last decade. It's the increase in the number of kids playing minor hockey and the increase in areas where hockey is being played, like California, Arizona, Florida, Texas, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Areas that didn't have hockey before have it now and at a high level."

QMI Agency talked to dozens of hockey people for this series and the majority had the same answer when it came to the question of the USA's potential of surpassing Canada as the top hockey factory in the world.

It's only a matter of time.

The rising cost of playing and Canada's changing demographics -- immigrants aren't as likely to embrace hockey as the sport of choice for their kids -- are challenges facing Hockey Canada.

"It's going to depend on enrollment in both countries," said Timmins. "The possibility exists the U.S. will pass Canada. It's just a matter of numbers, it's just the odds."

"It might not be in our lifetime, but I still believe hockey in the U.S. is going to continue to grow. It's going to be huge. It's happening," said Hall of Fame defenceman Al MacInnis, who's been involved with minor hockey in St. Louis, where he has retired. His son, Ryan, is a member of USA Hockey's U17 team this year.

"(That is) just based on the numbers. What's the population of Canada? In the U.S., you're looking at 350 million people. It might not be at the pace that we'd like and I'm not sure how far in the future, but it's happening."

American hockey supremacy just a matter of time

Two American leaders are butting heads in the NHL labour impasse, depriving us of our Canadian Saturday night tradition.

The Stanley Cup, which hasn't called a Canadian city home since 1993, is now is residence in the 90210 area code after the Los Angeles Kings brought the NHL's chalice to Southern California for the second time in five years.

An American-born captain, Dustin Brown, hoisted the Cup last spring. It was going to be an American no matter who won the final, with Minnesota's Zach Parise of the New Jersey Devils on the other side.

After winning five world junior championships in a row, Canada had it streak snapped in 2010 by the Americans and hasn't won since.

The year before Canada started its drive for five, the U.S. also won the world junior title in 2004. The U.S. and Canada are the only multiple gold-medal winners since then.

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